Roughly four hours from both Portland and Seattle, you’re not all that far from major metropolitan cities, not to mention the Cascade mountain range and the Columbia River Gorge. If you like the outdoors, like to fish or hunt, Pasco might just be for you.

If you’re a fan of outdoor activities, Pasco Wa has a lot to offer, including homes for sale and homes for rent. Every variety of water sport possible is available in Pasco. Here you have a unique convergence of major three rivers, so water sports and waterfront real estate are high on the list of reasons people love living in Pasco Washington. While a city on its own, there’s still plenty of outdoor space for everyone, so hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, golf, and of course, hunting and fishing are huge in the Pasco Wa area. The best thing about the activities you find in the Pasco area are friendly to families, retirees, and singles looking for a unique, diverse, and interesting place to live.

Immediately adjacent to several national hubs of technology and a vast array of other scientific and energy research, Pasco is one of the preferred cities to live in for many of the scientists, engineers, and other employees of many of the nearby scientific facilities. Lightheartedly, Pasco is home to many geeks. Located in the shadow of the Hanford Nuclear Project, there are hundreds of job opportunities in, and supporting, the predominate fields of energy, including nuclear, physics, engineering of every kind, architecture, reduction of the human carbon footprint, computers, and one of my predicted hugest professions of the next 50 years, cyber-security.

Crime rate in Pasco is well below state and national averages, and it only takes a couple of google searches for you to find out that Pasco, as well as neighboring Richland and Kennewick, WA, collectively known as “the Tri-Cities”, have been nationally rated as top places to live in the country. Jobs are booming, there is currently a shortage of housing, so prices are a little high… and the cost of living isn’t as low as you’d expect for a South Eastern Washington city. Things can be “spendy” here. But that doesn’t make it any less wonderful of a place to live or buy your next home or investment property.

Beautiful in a way not expected by people who think “Washington”, Pasco is in a semi-arid desert climate, sheltered by the shadow of the Cascade mountain range, and the subsequent rain belt. On an average, they say we get 300 days of sunshine a year, with about 3 inches of rain. I think it’s just a little more rain, and less sunny days than that, but not by much. The thing I like best is that it’s seasonal and mild. Summers are not too hot, or hot for long anyway, winters aren’t too cold. There’s enough rain to make things look green, but there’s also a lot of undeveloped land covered by sagebrush and tumbleweeds. That means there’s room to grow.

Roughly four hours from both Portland and Seattle, you’re not all that far from major metropolitan cities, not to mention the Cascade mountain range and the Columbia River Gorge. If you like the outdoors, like to fish or hunt, Pasco might just be for you.

Traffic in Pasco is generally light. Unless there’s construction somewhere, you can get to almost anywhere in the Tri-Cities in about 15 minutes. Freeway backups are rare and slowdowns are infrequent.

The night life has improved somewhat in neighboring Richland and Kennewick, but Pasco has its own set of fun and family things to do… one of which is the Pasco Flea Market.

The colleges in the area, as well as many of the science and engineering based businesses, have an excellent reputation in the science fields… specifically, computer, engineering, and environmental science. There are more PhD’s in town than anywhere else in the country, per capita. The city has become diverse enough that just about any job opportunity, or possibly something similar to it, is available or just about to become available. Medical professionals are welcome, as the area has some of the best hospital and medical resources in Pasco.

The area is a growth palate for small tech startup companies. Consider the startup cost of a Silicon Valley tech startup vs the cost of one in business friendly Washington. It’s no wonder why so many local businesses are attracting a more educated workforce, which always leads to stronger real estate markets and more stable home prices. The economy in Pasco is not significantly affected by the national economy, so if you’re thinking of buying a home, get one sooner than later. Prices are expected to continue gradually rising until at least 2020.

In closing, consider Pasco as a great place, regardless of your family situation. If you don’t have a family, there’s plenty to do. If you do have a family, there’s plenty to do, year round. With the low crime rate, Pasco remains a great place to raise kids, and certainly not a bad place to set them off in the direction of their future career in science, engineering, or energy.